Operation Gang Strike Results in 10 Year Prison Sentence for
Local Gang Associate

OCT 28 --Portland, Ore. – Today U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Jones sentenced James
Terrance Warren, a.k.a. “T-Hogg,” 42, of Portland, Oregon to serve ten years in federal prison
for distributing crack cocaine. Upon his release from prison, he will also be required to serve
five years of supervised release. On April 22, 2010, Warren pled guilty to distributing 50 grams
or more of cocaine base, in the form of crack cocaine.

This sentence reflects the combined efforts of law enforcement resources from Oregon
and California,” said DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Paul Schmidt. “The collaboration
and cooperation in this investigation is a great example of our commitment to keep our
communities safe.”

In December 2008, agents and officers with the Metro Gang Task Force started Operation
Gang Strike, an investigation targeting criminal organizations and gang associates responsible
for dealing firearms and selling large amounts of both crack and powder cocaine in the Portland
Metropolitan area. The investigation, which included the use of court authorized wiretaps,
eventually resulted in the federal indictments of 24 individuals. The investigation revealed that
James Ray “Lonnie” Yoakum was the head of a large-scale cocaine trafficking organization
operating in the Portland Metropolitan area. As the leader of this operation Yoakum would
obtain kilograms of cocaine from sources in California and Oregon and then distribute the
cocaine, either by himself or with the assistance of others, to large and mid-level dealers, such as
the defendant, in the Portland Metropolitan area. This cocaine distribution organization included
people associated with local street gangs.

The defendant was arrested in October 2009. During the sentencing hearing the government argued that the ten year sentence would send a clear message that the defendant’s criminal conduct would be appropriately punished. In imposing the sentence, Judge Jones concurred and noted the defendant’s lengthy criminal history and association with “gun-slingers” and violent street gangs warranted the lengthy sentence. During the sentencing hearing the defendant admitted he associated with the Kerby Blocc Crips.

The investigation was led by the Metro Gang Task Force, which is comprised of the
United States Attorney’s Office, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, the
Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office, the Washington County District Attorney’s Office,
and law enforcement officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Bureau of Alcohol
Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Portland
Police Bureau, Gresham Police Department, Milwaukie Police Department, Beaverton Police
Department, Tigard Police Department, the Hillsboro Police Department, the Woodburn Police
Department, Canby Police Department, and the Oregon City Police Department. Other agencies
that substantially assisted in this investigation include the Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Portland Police Bureau Gang Enforcement Team, the
Portland Police Bureau Drugs and Vice Division, Washington County’s Westside Interagency
Narcotics (WIN) Task Force, the Regional Organized Crime and Narcotics (ROCN) Task Force,
and Oregon Department of Human Services.